Demystifying the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Why Attend?
When is an employee's notice of the need for leave sufficient?
What kinds of absenteeism issues arise?
What are the trends relating to the definition of a serious health condition?
How can I effectively prosecute or defend FMLA claims?
What should I know about DOL requests for information on various FMLA issues?
This timely seminar considers hot topics under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in the advice and counseling arena. Benefit from insights, practice and litigation tips, and study materials, plus the opportunity to submit questions in advance of and during the program for discussion by an expert faculty.
In the final 30 minutes, the series Planning Chairs/Moderators provide a summary of recent employment law developments, including any regulatory developments and groundbreaking opinions - a valuable and regular feature of this series.
Planning Chairs
Robert B. Fitzpatrick, Robert B. Fitzpatrick, PLLC, Washington, D.C.
Frank C. Morris Jr., Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., Washington, D.C.
Faculty
Sharon M. Dietrich, Managing Attorney, Employment and Public Benefits, Community Legal Services, Inc., Philadelphia
Ellen E. McLaughlin, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Chicago
Program Schedule
- 12:00 noon EST Demystifying the Family Medical Leave Act: Hot Topics under the FMLA in the Advice and Counseling Arena - Panel Discussion
- When Is an Employee's Notice of the Need for Leave Sufficient?
- · General Requirements
- · Notice By An Employee When He/She Is Taking Intermittent Leave
- · Are Behavioral Changes or Deteriorating Job Performance Really Enough To Trigger Notice? (Byrne v. Avon Products and subsequent cases)
- · Can an Employer Designate a Specific Person to Whom Notice Should Be Given? (825.302(a), Cavin v. Honda and Walton v. Ford Motor)
- · Examples of Sufficient v. Insufficient Notice
- Absenteeism Issues
- · Is Intermittent Leave Really a License To Ignore an Employer's Work Schedule?
- · When Can an Employer Count Absences as Occurrences under an Attendance Policy?
- · Can an Employer Enforce its Call-In Procedures? (DOL position v. case law)
- Trends Relating to the Definition of Serious Health Condition (SHC)
- · Is Everything a SHC?
- · What is Continuing Treatment? (General guidance and Jones v. Denver Pub. Sch.)
- · Must an Employer Get a Second Opinion In order to Later Challenge a SHC?
- Practical Tips for Prosecuting and Defending FMLA Claims
- · Plaintiff Practitioner Perspective: Why FMLA cases are good ones to litigate (pro-ee regs, pro-DOL, common employer mistakes) and what factors do you evaluate before taking an employee's claim
- · Employer Practitioner Response
- · Litigation Tips from Both Sides of the Table
- · Is "Eligible Employee" Jurisdictional? (Minard v. ITC Deltacom and Ariav v. Mersch, Clark & Rothschild)
- · When Can After-Acquired Evidence Be Considered? (Edgar v.JAC Prods., Bauer v. Varity Dayton-Walther, Dillon v. Maryland-National Capital Park)
- · What Is the Ragsdale Defense and When Should It Be Asserted?
- · Are Waivers/Releases of FMLA Claims Valid?
- Department of Labor's Request for Information on Various FMLA Issues
- · Will It Lead to Regulatory Changes? Who Wins? Who Loses?
- 1:30 p.m. EST Recent Developments in Employment Law; Questions & Answers - Robert B. Fitzpatrick and Frank C. Morris, Jr.
- 2:00 p.m. EST Adjournment
Total 60-minute hours of instruction: 2
Suggested Prerequisite: Limited experience in legal practice in subject matter.
Educational Objective: Provision of information on recent legal developments; maintenance of professional competence as a practitioner
Level of Instruction: Intermediate
